The musical 42nd Street ran for five years at Drury Lane from 1984 and has been regularly revived for regional tours and West End outings ever since, so it is no surprise to find the latest production arriving in Woking on a tour that will last well into 2024 (with a Christmas trip overseas to Toronto) and to find another full house of fans looking for an entertaining feelgood night out. The real delight is that the leading lady Nicole-Lily Baisden, playing Peggy Sawyer, the chorus girl who makes good, is absolutely brilliant in her movement and dance and outshines the bigger names in the cast. Just as the 1984 West End production discovered nineteen-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones, this production may have revealed another huge rising star of musical theatre.
Its Jukebox musical format, using a 1933 film as a base and adding other period songs, is a formulaic and cliched ‘show within a show’ story with a simple plot of a chorus girl who makes good. It succeeds due to an excellent well-drilled Ensemble, sparkling performances from the leads, slick scene transitions and elegant glittering costumes, with an energetic execution throughout and music that sweeps you along in a toe-tapping evening that is simply irresistible. Of course, the really big tap routines live long in the memory and the choreography feels fresh and exciting.
Nicole-Lily Baisden makes an instant impact when she arrives on set late for an audition, we see her nerves and uncertainty but quickly her ability to learn fast and tap faster makes her stand out from the line. She is charming and elegant and moves with a powerful precision that grabs your attention. It is a role where you have to believe she has more talent than everyone else and is only held back by her fear and this young actress is totally convincing. She dances with joy and passion, easily wins over the older dancers and the audience, and plays the role with a genuine smile of joy.She combines beautifully with the more experienced Samantha Womack as the diva Dorothy Brock who portrays the star’s confident vocals and uncertain dance movements with great stage presence and comic skill and then delightfully reveals her more caring side as she encourages Peggy to go on in her place. Michael Praed may be a long way from the youthful hero of Robin of Sherwood where he started but perfectly embodies the impresario Julian Marsh, the driven choreographer /producer of The Pretty Lady and charmingly leads of the cast in ”Lullaby of Broadway”, one of several great songs in the show. A little comic light relief is provided by Faye Tozer as Maggie Jones and Les Dennis as Bert Barry, in ludicrous overside vaudeville costumes, who author and produce the show.
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This is a touring show with fabulous production values. The opening overture with a band of ten is accompanied by some evocative 1930’s new reels and graphics and lovely vignette dance routines glimpsing the behind-the-scenes preparations and setting the time and place as America in 1933. Time is taken to establish characters and relationships. Dance smoothly covers the scene transitions on the forestage as settings are moved behind and two mobile staircases are cleverly manoeuvred to vary the look of interiors. The costumes are excellent throughout with a lovely touch of different coloured hats in some scenes on every character which seems to add a touch of glamour and theatricality. Indeed, Jonathan Church’s whole direction cleverly plays on the theatricality of the musical with glimpses behind the gauze while letting the music and the dance steal the show. The result is a delightful feel-good evening full of charm and some of the tightest tap routines you will see on stage this year.Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★★★
Seat: Stalls, Row G | Price of Ticket: £51
